mindfulness

Marx is supposed to have said; I am no Marxist. Perhaps Buddha would have said the same about Buddhism. (Perhaps Christ about Christianity) Dan Harris Writes in an article about this: We have to differ Buddhas Dharma from Buddhism or from religion as a phenomena. Even if Buddha was right his teachings have been popularized and vulgarized. But the original teachings can be used in a context outside of Buddhism Harris argues: Algebra comes from the Arabs, but now it's used by the whole world. Science came from the west but belongs to everyone that practice it - and so on. Harris is the US news anchor that found out that mindfulness helped him - though it was no miracle cure. I use to practice mindfulness with a "light" Buddhist group inspired by Thich Nhat Hanh. You don't have to be a Buddhist to join in, but they emphasize some ethics that is fine for me: http://plumvillage.org/mindfulness-practice/the-5-mindfulness-trainings/    It was hard from th

If you are interested in Philosophy or religion, you probably also are interested in ethics. The fruits of the earth belongs to everybody but the earth belongs to nobody.... We have found out that we live in a very small planet in a giant universe. Just a blue water drop in a sea of planets, stars and galaxies. We have done this because of our intelligence. But even though there are things we cannot measure and things that mathematics is of no use. Maybe the most valuable experiences are like this. for instance birdsong. If the birdsong finished most of us would be missing it badly. But how many dollars are the birdsong worth? What would we do to save for our children? It's easier if we look at a bigger picture - if we destroy our forests and lakes it will in the end decrease our chance to survive on this planet Most of us understand that. Anyway we have problems to grasp it. First comes the stomach, then the moral, as Bertold Brecht puts it in the play, Mutter

  Well, Wittgenstein didn't write directly about mindfulness.  But his first book.  Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus,  ends with the world;" Whereof  one   cannot     speak , thereof one must be silent." That resembles meditation; If you want to experience the absolute reality you have to stop thinking. If you will have some space between your thoughts you will feel less separated from everything else.  And then again -we always have to return to the conventional truth – it's where we live. In the book Wittgenstein also claim that religion and science speaks different languages and shouldn't be mixed up.  As religion is about myth's it show us way to live our lives.  That can also be said about mindfulness in the Buddhist context.   It is for sure shown in the five mindfulness trainings. A version of the eightfold path prepared by Tich Nath Hanh in Plum Village.  It is meant for a guide for lay-Buddhists but can also be a guide for secul

In her book, "Are you an illusion?" Mary Midgley supports holism She argues that the thoughts we have, the longing and the choices we make are important - it's i not only signals in the brain. Perhaps obvious, but not if you are a 100% reductionist... We also have some freedom, I can lift my arm when I decide to do so... So our will  seems to influence the brain and the muscles in the arm - we are not totally ruled by the genes, as Dawkins seems to mean. A Buddhist would say that the  brain and the mind is interrelated. Without the brain there would be no mind. But without the mind - no brain. Or; the brain has been developed to construct mind - without the mind the brain would have no function and would therefore be smaller and smaller  like our smallest toes are... - because of that we now seldom climb trees, There must for sure be a self in each men, she argues. and mocks the philosophers  that  claims that the self just is an illusion, though a necessar

If we have no permanent or separate self, we probably would change quite often. And we do... Our mood swings not just with aging - less testosterone in men and more in women - but also over days or weeks. So the teenager and the old man cannot be really the same... But some things in us seems to remain the same - do you for instance like the same music now as when you were seventeen? Or some of it? Or maybe some music  are timeless... (doesn't matter what genre) ? Anyway - in this guys there are many hormones acting - but there must be something more... I suppose we are not just matter.... For instance - what is music?

We all tell stories, don't we. I do. I suppose we have to.  But we are not always aware of that we do it. Perhaps we think we talk about the Truth or facts. I tell stories around mindfulness, tries to make it meaningful, tries to make fit into a discourse. But I cannot leave the context and language that my clients feel at home with. I try to make my own life meaningful and therefore I tell a story about myself where mindfulness fits in. I'm really not sure if I tell the truth, but I anyway need the story, not at least for my own identity. Even parties need stories; In the Swedish election yesterday. The parties have to tell coherent stories about themselves, that may attract the voters. In politics we all now that the leaders make promises and often exaggerate. But we anyway sometimes are seduced by the stories. What we always don't see is that even such things that courts and judges are influenced by stories. Stories about what is a criminal behavio

In a talk with Robert Wright at bloggingheads.tv Miri Albhari (from The University of Western Australia) suggests that something seems to be permanent. http://bloggingheads.tv/videos/30344?in=13%3A12&out=20%3A20    Does i matter?  Well, when we meditate we are aware of our thoughts and feelings and our body.  So what is it then that is aware?  Some kind of witness consciousness? Is it the part of the brain called the reptile brain? But it seems to be so calm, it have some kind of warm distance or humbleness. Witnessing a play without judging.  As we all are actors on an global stage... Is it a part of consciousness that every creature have?  Really interesting questions - better not hurry up with the answers...  It seems that everything else really is impermanent. To see this is to accept death and for instance global warming. If we accept death we may will take care of our self but also do more thing before it's to late. If we accept th

Bill Bryson (from his book "A short story of nearly everything" - my poor translation from Swedish): " without the the moon's stabilizing impact, the Earth would swing like a sinking ship. The moon´s gravitation makes the Earth rotate with the right speed and the right angle that is needed for the Earth to develop life. This will not go on for ever. The moon is going away from us with  four centimeters a year. In about two billion years it will be so far away that we have to find another solution to have the right speed and angle. Before that I think you can think about the moon as a good fellow in the night sky." We are often very anthropocentric not thinking about all the circumstances that make it possible for us to be here. For instance, the bacterias that in the beginning fixed the right level of oxygen on Earth, When the level was right they suddenly stopped the process. No one knows why.... If we meditate or stop thinking for a while we ca

Same place - another kind o light To get a grip of the saying; "all is one", it´s adequate to say that all is energy, I guess. As Einstein showed, even matter and light can be seen as energi... Of course, in the daily life we have to líve in the conventional reality. But perhaps we can be aware of that in another and parallel reality we are all equal. Even stones and cliffs seem to enjoy the sunshine..

To build a career or a new consciousness? If you start being mindful, it may change your way of thinking. You will have some distance your thoughts and our tendency to think i dualistic terms: friend-enemy, human- animal, right wing-left wing, me-the world and so on.... We are often caught in old patterns or in patterns supported by the society... If you have moment when you stop thinking, you will make some space for new thought and new patterns or maybe some ability without a pattern or tendency... Remember that it's best to start meditate in a group and maybe just for five minutes, to see if it's something for you. It can be too much of everything - for some of us it's enough to just be alone in nature... Here is where I spent my evening yesterday - no noises from cars and so on. Very refreshing and a kind of love- affair with nature - the cooling wind, the surrounding water when you take a swim, the warm cliffs under your feets - we all know about it

The film comes from a place where I use to meditate or just stroll around. If you are quiet, the animals will accept you and even be curious. This little watersnake came quite near... When we let our thoughts go, we can easily  feel that we share some kind of consciousness, with the rest of the animals:With a snake, a fish, or a bumblebee that you saves from drowning... We share feelings of scariness, satisfaction, concentration and probably of pleasure. You will not see a snake meditate. But you can see a concentrated snake like this, smelling for pray with it's tongue. The snakes probably don't think much, probably not worry for the future or for death. So they don't have to meditate to be calmer. Planning for the future is necessary,  but we don't have to do it all the time... We try to make our life safe. But we all now that bad things can happen anyway. If we all the time are afraid for something we will miss a lot of things. To care for a pet o

If you become peaceful, you will help other people with just your appearance. Like a beautiful tree. So try to take care of your self, have some time for yourself each day to nourish yourself. We all have feelings of loneliness and emptiness, even if we are around a lot of people. Some of us are so afraid of loneliness, that we have to be connected to others all the time, by phone or the net. But sooner or later we have to cope with ourselves.... Perhaps it's not possible to be peace all the time. And it's important to not condemn yourself if you not are peaceful all the time. But it's for sure something to strive for....

Many of us feel like as we are stuck in a hole. It can be a trauma from the childhood,  or maybe we been hurt as adults. A common way is to distract our selves so we don't have to be reminded of it. It can be shopping, alcohol, destructive sex, it can be looking for fame. The trouble is that it can be addictive. We can be caught in a bahviour. Often it is better to have a look at the feelings, it can be loneliness, sadness, anger,despair.... (if it is even deeper feelings it's better to first go a a doctor) It's okay t have those feeling,  just breath with the feeling and let them be there, if you not are too tired or stressed you can take care of them. If you now what will trigger the feeling try to stay away from it.... there are so many thing out here that will trigger feelings as scariness - on the net, on the TV, in certain newspapers. I have no TV and  read serious newspapers. The net is more difficult. It can be addictive too. maybe he five mkindful

just be with the nature - watch, for instance, the shadows of the grass                              try too look at the man as nature too music brian eno

Maybe the answer can be - both.... If you look for the word at Wikipedia, you will find the word in two versions, in a Buddhist and in a secular context. But if you have the vision that everything is interconnected, they are of course connected. Both Dalai Lama and Thich Nhath Hanh  has tried, with varied success, to combine both contexts. The problem is that, science won't take thing for true until they prove and even then the scientist has to be open for changes or admit that we don't really understand certain phenomena. While religion has another agenda; to look for security, salvation and often company. Some ceremonies and traditions also strengthen the belief and the group. The more complicated, the better. In a new world, with big challenges we probably need  both contexts. Science can't make meaning and religion can hardly  make progress in thought and behavior. Sometimes religion seems to go hand in hand though, and that seems to be the case in the

Why not lay down in a park or in a forest. Just listen to the leaves waving and the birds singing. Life can be as simple as that.  If we can enjoy these moments, we don't  have tobe rich and don't have to have other people around all the time. This Earth is a sacred beauty. And we are a part of the planet and of the whole universe.  Be open to yourself, to your fears and your thoughts, even the unpleasant ones. Nature will soothe them.... And when thoughts leave, just concentrate on the breath and then on the scenery...

Perhaps you have had to meet some of your own sorrow or the sadness in the world before you want to start with mindfulness. But that can make you eager for some meditation. Nick Drake didn't have the strength to go on for so long. But he gave us some lovely music. Here is one of his song interpreted by MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO  A women that for sure has seen some sorrowfulness but fortunately has been able to cope with it. If you want to help the world, you better stay as strong as you can, like a tree in the wind. The branches and the leaves can move quickly - but the roots should stay solid.

Is it this that we are longing for? In The Karamazov Brothers , the novel by Dostoevsky, the author lets one of the brothers tell the story of The Grand inquisitor;  It's long ago in Spain. the old man tells about when Jesus suddenly appears in Seville. The inquisitor sets Jesus in prison and says to him that people don't want the freedom that Jesus provides, they just want wonders, mysteries and authorizes to obey... The youngest brother, Alyosha, listens to this, as the very intellectual and skeptic Ivan tells the story. Ivan can't accept the earth as it is, with all this murders, even of children. When he walks away Alyosha sees that one of Ivan's shoulders hangs down a little... It is as Dostoevsky wants to tell that intellectual understanding is not enough. In the book Alyosha learns that it's necessary to love the earth as it is - even if it isn't logical acceptably But freedom in the heart is also necessary - Dostoevsky never learnt to like

If you live in a green and friendly place you can open the door to the balcony to be mindful. You can just sit, listen to the wind, looking at the leaves dancing and the birds flying. When the thoughts start to wander you just say "hello" to them and then "goodbye". The music is made by Brian Eno.

A chat with an oak... just near my home... you won't start to talk with trees if you become mindful. But you will be more aware of the nature around you. You will appreciate it more and try to be more in nature, alone or with other people - but try to be silent..  You will never feel alone if you are near a big tree, even if you don't speak to it.... her/he?

It is easy to forget - but you have to do your mindfulness regularly, otherwise it won't do no good. Try to find some space when you are in the here and now. You don't have to sit on a cushion, you can do it when you walk from the parking lot or from the bus. You can do it when you stand in a queue. Just relax and feel your breath. To be tense will not shorten the queue. Every evening I take a stroll on a path in a little forest near my house. I walk very slowly, I am aware of my steps and my breath, I am aware of the surroundings, the trees and the birds, sometimes a deer. I'm also aware of my thoughts, If they come I just listen to them and let the pass. Sometimes I invite my inner child, ask him how it is. He use to be very pleased in the forest. I sometimes stop, I look, smell and listen. If I have a camera I can take a photo or make a little film. That will sharpen my senses and strengthen the the presence. If I do that on a windy day, the leaves on the tre

Lost in memories and worries a shadow wandered through the forest the birds singing, the leaves dancing in the breeze but just above; a cloud so dark slowly moving like an umbrella I found a bench and laid down one leg over the other like a sheet the sun-rays laid down too until the cloud took them away a butterfly, the Queen! in the north so rare dancing just beside the cloud suddenly it sat om my knee the antennas bent towards my head I looked at her and she looked at me what did she see ? a shadow or a man or something in between? perhaps she thought I was a tree, her feet sensing; could she lay her caterpillars her? she moved away but suddenly I felt her on my forehead the tiny feats moving to keep the balance the wingtips trembling towards my thoughts suddenly the thoughts passed away I just sensed her dancing feet the wings spread towards the sun she took me back to the summer to the sound of the flies, the warm breeze to the the wo

It's true, we can just be satisfied for a short while. That's life and I suppose we have to accept it. Mick Jagger's wife recently died, quite young. It seems that she was one of us who tries to escape suffering. We all are, in some way or another trying to do it; with alcohol, sex, shopping, TV, food, -a lot of things can be used to avoid bad feelings. In a Buddhist retreat, some weeks ago, we where to asked to take part in a guided meditation that goes; I'm in the nature to get sick - I can't escape it. I'm in the nature to die - I can't escape it. The only things that will survive is my actions. Hard stuff. We usually tries to avoid thinking of these things. At least on a conscious level. But on a deeper level, we all now that it is true. So what will happen if we more often will be aware of these facts? I'm sure we will slow down a bit. Perhaps we will take a new decision about about our career. Is it really necessary to work so mu

I´m walking in the little forest nearby my home. It's a rainy day in May. But for a while the sun shines through the clouds and and I sit down on a bench. I'm leaning my face towards the light. When I open my eyes I see someone else who also is enjoying the warmth. In the grass just beside me is a blackbird, his chest towards the sun rays. When the clouds comes back, he starts to clean the feathers - but as soon the sun shines again he stops. It is as if he says to me-" hey listen, you and me are just the same,  both of us are longing for summer and warm weather." And as we have the same desires we sometime have to compete for the best place in the sun. At least if we are many creatures in the same area. The birds are not  so many, most of them leave the snowy winters for warmer places. And many of  them will not come back. But we are many, and we need a lot of space. We have been everywhere on the Earth. We have made religions to make us stronger a

Honey lovers, we have to raise our voices - together with the bees: To much pesticides are neither good for the bees,  nor for us... I wonder if it's gradually possible to learn to live in another way. To choose to eat the more expensive organic fruits and vegetables, and at the same time choose to live in a more simple way; avoid car driving and over consuming. In some way we have to learn to live in another way. But even poor people need to  have food on their tables, so it's not an easy question. But in the long run, it has to be solved, for the sake of the bees and the earth, and therefore for our sake. If you meditate or live in a mindful way, you will know that everything is connected; what is good for the bees is good for us. Here you can sing a petition for every "beeing": http://sos-bees.org/#petition

Maybe there is a way out of here... Maybe some slow evolution is going on in the background. We know what's going on, climate change, mass destruction of species and so on. But we also know that we all come from the same place, the Big Bang. We are all made of the same material and energy. All the old religions did not talk about this fact, they did not know it. Now the whole world is getting connected. Organisations like the Red Cross, UNICEF and so on are quite new manifestations. Evenso Greenpeace and PETA. And they are for sure needed. Brian Swimme talks about the eyes that the evolution created some 500 milion years ago http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/264300.php;  perhaps the eyes was created because the earth wanted to see itself. She/he was curios... But why did she/he create us? Slowly a new era is creating itself. Is the Earth the master even this time? Where are we going?

Easter. The suffering of Christ didn't take away our sins, neither our suffering or pain. If you are open to your suffering, which is to recommend - you will also be open to the suffering in the world. That can, in the beginning, be very painful. But in the long run it can be more painful to try to run away from the pain. If you are open to the different feelings and thoughts in you, you will probably see that some of them can be very aggressive, either to yourself or to others. That is not unusual. We live in a society witch premiers success. Newspapers, films and son on supports this idea. But as we soon will find out, in the long run, there is no success story for non of us... As we always strives to achieve more and more, we often will fail... And then we criticize our selves. We often blame others but are secretly blaming ourselves. But all of us will have troublesome experiences. It is then a benefit if you can listen to your self. Who are you blaming? Wh

In my small mindfulness class, we always end our meetings with tea and nuts. We eat and drink in silence. We focus on what we put on our mouths. When we drink tea we can imagine the rain and the water from the lake Mälaren. We can imagine the process of cleaning the water before we can drink it. When you heat the water we have to use energy and as it in my home comes from water and wind I can be quite satisfied. The last time, while  I ate the nuts I could easily imagine the people working with them, seeding the plants and picking the nuts. But then I thought of the pesticides used to grow the nuts. I first imagined the chemical that could come into the bodies of the group. But then I swiftly imaged the farmers and the birds and insects that could be polluted by the  pesticides - and I decides to nest time look for more eco-friendly nuts. I guess that's what mindfulness is for. If you take compassion out of mindfulness it will be just a kind of training The compassion is

The first flowers, here the small ones on an elm, makes you believe in life again. (fingertip..............................................;~) The robin's eager song, the squirrels search for hidden nuts, the small light green sprouts on the ground and the magpies building their nests. It's like a resurrection...after five month in some kind of half-Hades. Every year we meet this very different seasons; Stockholm is on the same latitude as the southern part of Greenland. Perhaps that makes us in the north aware of that everything really is changing, Nothing is constant, and  both the good and the bad times will end. Maybe some of this is heard in the music of the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt:: Everything will fade away and everything will come again, but in slightly different forms. When you get children, you will have the same feeling, life goes on, even you go on, but in a different form. Thich Nhat Hanh use to say that we will live on in our actions. They